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August 16
Events *1384 - The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China hears a case of a couple who tore paper money bills while fighting over them—a case considered equal to the act of destroying stamped government documents, which by law necessitated one hundred floggings by a bamboo rod. However, the Hongwu Emperor decided to pardon them, seeing as how their intention was not to tear up the money. *1513 - Battle of Guinegate (Battle of the Spurs) - King Henry VIII of England defeats French Forces who beat a hasty retreat. *1780 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Camden - The British defeat the Americans near Camden. *1792 - Maximilien Robespierre presents the petition of the Commune of Paris to the Legislative Assembly, which demanded the formation of a revolutionary tribunal. *1812 - War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army. *1819 - Eleven people die and 400 are injured by cavalry charges at the Peterloo Massacre at a public meeting at St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England. *1841 - U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history. *1858 - U.S. President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. However, a weak signal will force a shutdown of the service in a few weeks. *1865 - Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic regains its independence after 4 years of fighting against the Spanish Annexation. *1868 - Arica, Peru (now Chile) is devastated by a tsunami which followed a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in the Peru-Chile Trench off the coast. The earthquake and tsunami killed an estimated 25,000 people in Arica and perhaps 70,000 people in all. *1869 - Battle of Acosta Ñu: A Paraguay battalion made up of children is massacred by the Brazilian Army during the War of the Triple Alliance. *1870 - Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Mars-La-Tour is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory. *1896 - Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. *1913 - Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tōhoku University) admits its first female students. *1914 - World War I: Battle of Cer begins. *1915 - World War I: Should victory be achieved over the Central Powers, the Triple Entente promises the Kingdom of Serbia: the Austro-Hungarian territories of Baranja, Srem, Slavonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the eastern ⅔ of Dalmatia (from the river of Krka to the city of Bar). *1920 - Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians is hit in the head by a fastball thrown by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees, and dies early the next day. To date, Chapman is the only player to die from injuries sustained in a Major League Baseball game. * 1920 - The congress of the Communist Party of Bukhara opens. The congress would call for armed revolution. *1930 - The first color sound cartoon, called Fiddlesticks, is made by Ub Iwerks. *1940 - World War II: The Communist Party is banned in German-occupied Norway. *1942 - World War II: The two-person crew of the U.S. naval blimp L-8 disappears without a trace on a routine anti-submarine patrol over the Pacific Ocean. The blimp drifts without her crew and crash-lands in Daly City, California. *1944 - First flight of the Junkers Ju 287. *1945 - An assassination attempt was made on Japan's prime minister, Kantaro Suzuki. *1945 - Puyi, the last Chinese emperor and ruler of Manchukuo, was captured by Soviet troops. *1946 - The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, is established, and Ichirō Ishikawa is appointed its representative. *1960 - Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom. * 1960 - Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,330 m), setting three records that still stand today: High-altitude jump, free-fall, and fastest speed by a human without an aircraft. *1964 - Vietnam War: A coup d'état replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy. *1966 - Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested. *1972 - The Royal Moroccan Air Force fires upon, in an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt, Hassan II of Morocco's plane while he is traveling back to Rabat. *1987 - A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes on take-off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus (Detroit), killing 155 passengers and crew. The sole survivor is four-year-old Cecelia Cichan. *1992 - In response to an appeal by President Fernando Collor de Mello to wear green and yellow as a way to show support for him, thousands of Brazilians take to the streets dressed in black. *1993 - The Debian distribution was first announced by Ian Murdock, then a student at Purdue University. Murdock initially called his system the "Debian Linux Release" *2003 - U.S. Representative from South Dakota Bill Janklow hits and kills a motorcyclist with his car at a rural intersection near Trent; he will eventually be convicted of manslaughter and will resign from Congress. *2005 - West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes near Machiques, Venezuela, killing the 160 aboard. Births *1355 - Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of Ulster *1378 - Hongxi Emperor of China (d. 1425) *1557 - Agostino Carracci, Italian artist (d. 1602) *1573 - Anna of Austria, queen of Poland (d. 1598 *1596 - Frederick V (d. 1632) *1637 - Emilie Juliane of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, German countess and poet (d. 1706) *1645 - Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (d. 1696) *1650 - Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encylopedist (d. 1718) *1682 - Louis, duc de Bourgogne, heir-apparent to the French throne (d. 1712) *1761 - Yevstigney Fomin, Russian composer (d. 1800) *1815 - John Bosco, Italian priest and educator (d. 1888) *1820 - Andrew Rainsford Wetmore, Canadian politician (d. 1892) *1831 - John Jones Ross, Quebec politician (d. 1901) *1832 - Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (d. 1920) *1842 - Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (d. 1922) *1845 - Gabriel Lippmann, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1921) *1858 - Arthur Achleitner, German writer (d. 1927) *1860 - Jules Laforgue, French poet (d. 1887) *1862 - Amos Alonzo Stagg, American coach (d. 1965) *1868 - Bernarr McFadden, American publisher (d. 1955) *1876 - Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator (d. 1942) *1884 - Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourg-born editor and publisher (d. 1967) * 1884 - Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (d. 1942) *1888 - T. E. Lawrence, English writer and soldier (d. 1935) * 1888 - Armand J. Piron, American musician (d. 1943) *1892 - Otto Messmer, American cartoonist (d. 1983) *1894 - George Meany, American labor union leader (d. 1980) *1895 - Albert Cohen, Swiss novelist (d. 1981) * 1895 - Liane Haid, Austrian actress (d. 2000) *1902 - Georgette Heyer, English novelist (d. 1974) *1904 - Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971) *1908 - William Maxwell, American novelist and editor (d. 2000) *1911 - E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (d. 1977) *1912 - Ted Drake, English footballer (d. 1995) *1913 - Menachem Begin, 6th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel laureate (d. 1992) *1915 - Al Hibbler, American singer (d. 2001) *1916 - Iggy Katona, American race car driver (d. 2003) *1920 - Charles Bukowski, American poet (d. 1994) *1922 - Ernie Freeman, American pianist and arranger (d. 2001) *1923 - Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian playwright *1924 - Fess Parker, American actor *1925 - Willie Jones, American baseball player (d. 1983) *1928 - Ann Blyth, American actress *1929 - Bill Evans, American jazz pianist (d. 1980) * 1929 - Helmut Rahn, German footballer (d. 2003) * 1929 - Fritz Von Erich, American professional wrestler (d. 1997) *1930 - Robert Culp, American actor * 1930 - Frank Gifford, American football player and announcer * 1930 - Tony Trabert, American former tennis player *1931 - Eydie Gormé, American singer *1933 - Julie Newmar, American actress * 1933 - Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (d. 1994) *1934 - Diana Wynne Jones, British author * 1934 - Ketty Lester, American singer * 1934 - Pierre Richard, French actor *1935 - Andreas Stamatiadis, Greek footballer and coach * 1935 - Cliff Fletcher, Canadian National Hockey League executive *1937 - David Anderson, Canadian politician *1939 - Sir Trevor Mcdonald, Trinidadian-born British television newsreader *1940 - Bruce Beresford, Australian film director *1942 - Barbara George, American singer and songwriter (d. 2006) *1945 - Suzanne Farrell, ballet dancer *1946 - Massoud Barzani, Iraqi Kurdish politician * 1946 - Lesley Ann Warren, American actress * 1946 - Dick Murdoch, American professional wrestler (d. 1996) *1947 - Carol Moseley Braun, American politician and lawyer * 1947 - Katharine Hamnett, English fashion designer * 1947 - Marc Messier, Quebec actor *1948 - Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player * 1948 - Pierre Reid, Quebec politician and teacher *1949 - Scott Asheton, American musician (The Stooges) *1950 - Hasely Crawford, Trinidadian athlete * 1950 - Marshall Manesh, Iranian-born American actor * 1950 - Stockwell Day, Canadian politician *1950 - Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer *1951 - Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (d. 1992) *1952 - Reginald VelJohnson, American actor *1953 - Kathie Lee Gifford, American singer and actress * 1953 - James "J.T." Taylor, American singer (Kool & The Gang) *1954 - James Cameron, Canadian film director *1957 - Tim Farriss, Australian musician (INXS) *1958 - Angela Bassett, American actress * 1958 - Madonna, American singer and actress * 1958 - José Luis Clerc, Argentine tennis player *1960 - Timothy Hutton, American actor *1962 - Steve Carell, American actor and comedian *1964 - Jimmy Arias, American tennis player *1966 - Barry Lather, American choreographer, musician and actor *1967 - Ulrika Jonsson, Swedish television personality * 1967 - Pamela Smart, American convicted murderess *1968 - Mateja Svet, Slovenian alpine skier *1970 - Bonnie Bernstein, American sportscaster * 1970 - Fabio Casartelli, Italian cyclist (d. 1995) * 1970 - Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor *1971 - Stefan Klos, German footballer *1972 - Stan Lazaridis, Australian soccer player * 1972 - Emily Robison, American country singer, instrumentalist and songwriter (Dixie Chicks) *1973 - Damian Jackson, American baseball player *1974 - Krisztina Egerszegi, Hungarian swimmer * 1974 - Iván Hurtado, Ecuadorian footballer * 1974 - Roger Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player *1975 - Didier Agathe, French footballer * 1975 - George Stults, American actor *1976 - Jonatan Johansson, Finnish footballer * 1976 - Dave Ockun, American concert producer *1978 - Eddie Gill, American basketball player *1979 - Michael Stahlman, American rower and coach *1980 - Vanessa Carlton, American singer/songwriter * 1980 - Robert Hardy, English bassist (Franz Ferdinand) *1981 - Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguayan footballer * 1981 - Taylor Rain, American pornographic actress *1982 - Joleon Lescott, English footballer *1983 - Colin Griffiths, English TV presenter and DJ * 1983 - Nikos Zisis, Greek basketball player * 1983 - Colt Brennan, University of Hawai'i Quarterback *1985 - Agnes Bruckner, American actress *1986 - Shawn Pyfrom, American actor *1987 - Kyal Marsh, Australian actor *1988 - Kevin Schmidt, American actor * 1988 - Rumer Willis, American actress *1991 - Evanna Lynch, Irish actress * 1991 - Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Canadian actress Deaths *1027 - Giorgi I, King of Georgia (b. 998) *1297 - John II of Trebizond (b. 1262) *1327 - Roch, French saint (b. 1295) *1358 - Duke Albert II of Austria (b. 1298) *1419 - Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia (b. 1361) *1443 - Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1434) *1445 - Margaret of Scotland, wife of the future King Louis XI (b. 1424) *1518 - Loyset Compère, French composer *1532 - John (b. 1468) *1661 - Thomas Fuller, English churchman and historian (b. 1608) *1678 - Andrew Marvell, English poet (b. 1621) *1705 - Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and scientist (b. 1654) *1733 - Matthew Tindal, English deist (b. 1657) *1791 - Charles-François de Broglie, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1719) *1836 - Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician (b. 1755) *1855 - Henry Colburn, British publisher (b. ?) *1886 - Sri Ramakrishna, Bengali saint, guru of Swami Vivekananda (b. 1836) *1888 - John Pemberton, American druggist and inventor of Coca-Cola (b. 1831) *1893 - Jean-Martin Charcot, French neurologist (b. 1825) *1899 - Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, German chemist (b. 1811) *1900 - Eça de Queirós, Portuguese writer (b. 1845) *1907 - James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834) *1921 - King Peter I of Serbia (b. 1844) *1938 - Robert Johnson, American singer and guitarist (b. 1911) * 1938 - Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and priest (b. 1864) *1948 - Babe Ruth, American baseball player (b. 1895) *1949 - Margaret Mitchell, American novelist (b. 1900) *1951 - Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (b. 1887) *1952 - Lydia Field Emmet, American painter (b. 1866) *1956 - Bela Lugosi, Hungarian actor (b. 1882) *1957 - Irving Langmuir, American chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1881) *1959 - Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (b. 1879) *1961 - Maulvi Abdul Haq, Father of Modern Urdu (b. 1870) *1971 - Spyros Skouras, Greek-American movie executive, chairman of the Twentieth Century Fox (b. 1893) *1972 - Pierre Brasseur, French actor (b. 1905) *1973 - Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888) *1975 - Vladimir Kuts, Ukrainian-born runner (b. 1927) *1977 - Elvis Presley, American singer and actor (b. 1935) *1978 - Alidius Warmoldus Lambertus Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch lawyer and politician (b. 1888) *1979 - John Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1895) *1983 - Earl Averill, American baseball player (b. 1902) *1986 - Jaime Saenz, Bolivian poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1921) *1989 - Amanda Blake, American actress (b. 1929) *1990 - Pat O'Connor, New Zealand professional wrestler (b. 1925) *1991 - Shamu, One of the famous whales that star at SeaWorld (b. 1975) * 1991 - Luigi Zampa, Italian film director (b. 1905) *1993 - Stewart Granger, British film actor (b. 1913) *1995 - J.P. McCarthy, American radio personality (b. 1933) *1997 - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician (b. 1948) * 1997 - Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright and actor (b. 1915) *1999 - Pee Wee King, American country musician and songwriter (b. 1914) *2002 - Jeff Corey, American actor (b. 1914) * 2002 - Abu Nidal, Palestinian political leader (b. 1937) * 2002 - John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (b. 1933) *2003 - Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator (b. 1928) *2004 - Ivan Hlinka, Czech ice hockey coach (b. 1950) * 2004 - Carl Mydans, American photographer (b. 1907) * 2004 - Robert Quiroga, American boxer (b. 1969) *2005 - Joe Ranft, American animator (b. 1960) * 2005 - Frère Roger, Swiss monk and mystic (b. 1915) * 2005 - Vassar Clements, American musician (b. 1928) * 2005 - Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (b. 1943) *2006 - Alex Buzo, Australian playwright and author (b. 1944) * 2006 - Herschel Green, American pilot (b. 1920) * 2006 - Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish musician (b. 1975) * 2006 - Alfredo Stroessner, President of Paraguay (b. 1912) *2007 - Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. 1924) * 2007 - Bahaedin Adab, Iranian MP (b. 1945) * 2007 - The Missing Link, professional wrestler Holidays and observances *Palio dell'Assunta in Siena (on the day after the Assumption of Mary) * Bennington Battle Day: legal holiday in Vermont, USA, for the Battle of Bennington in 1777 (which actually took place in the state of New York) *Eastern Orthodox: commemoration of the translation of the Acheiropoietos icon which means "Not made by hands", (also known as the Mandelion; now lost) from Edessa to Constantinople on 16 August 944 RC saints: * Saint Roch, confessor (helps against plague and skin diseases), patron saint of pilgrims, plague victims, and dogs * Saint Simplician, bishop * Saint Stephen I of Hungary External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:August